Williamson County Commissioners approved a clarification of the countys Tobacco Free Policy on Feb. 4 to include electronic cigarette use on county property.

Beginning Feb. 11, e-cigarettes will fall under the same ban as cigarettes and chewing tobacco in county offices and on county-owned or -leased property, including vehicles. Parks and county roads are exempted from the ban, said John Sneed, senior director of emergency services.

The decision to include e-cigarettes is based on information from the Food and Drug Administration regarding the hazards of e-cigarette vapor.

The last article I read from the FDA said they were concerned [e-cigarettes] were as carcinogenic as tobacco cigarettes, Sneed said. You dont get the tar necessarily, but theres a huge amount of vapor. Thats not necessarily what our employees want to have next to them.

Assistant County Attorney Shannon Francis said the clarification to the Tobacco Free Policy came from discussion with the county benefits committee regarding confusion of where e-cigarettes fell in the policy.

They came into the market around 2006 and in the last couple years gained a lot of popularity, Francis said. There have been very limited studies on their health effects and the long-term effects on people who use them. The FDA did engage in a study in 2009, and the results were a bit concerning.

In 2009, the FDA announced findings from a laboratory analysisindicatinge-cigarettes expose users to harmful chemical ingredients, such as diethylene glycola toxic chemical used in antifreezeand carcinogens, including nitrosamines.

The clarified policy will be distributed in a memo to county employees and managers and will take effect Feb. 11 to allow time for the information to circulate.